Strictly Business
by Rose Lupus
Summary: Lena/Kara AU fake dating trope (part of a tumblr fic war).
1. Public Relations

**Prologue**

The two women sat across from each other in a large and stylishly decorated office. A dark stained wooden desk was covered in pages of graphs and results of opinion polls.

Lena's red painted lips drew a thin, bitter line that underscored her brilliant green eyes. She was a strikingly attractive, and could appear just as strikingly dangerous at times. Michelle supposed it was the mark of her Luthor upbringing. It was one of the many things that conspired against her attempts to remake the company's image.

"This is ridiculous."

"The fact remains that public perception is everything in this game; and the public currently sees you as another Luthor - cut throat, business oriented and cold hearted. L-Corp's newer projects have gone only a small way towards addressing this. It is an unfortunate reality that a single woman is still generally perceived as a heartless career woman by the kinds of men who run these companies, and by those who hold their shares."

"What exactly are you suggesting?"

Lena Luthor's dark brow quirked at a sharp angle, daring her PR advisor to continue. Michelle, however, had not survived in this business for as long as she had backing away from difficult conversations.

"You need to improve not just your business image, but also your personal image."

"Shall I adopt an orphan, then? Rescue a kitten from a tree, perhaps?" Lena asked in a biting tone.

It seemed nothing would ever convince people to see her as anything other than another Luthor. Well. Anyone but her mother. She kept her face even as that thought buried it's barbed tip deep in her chest.

Michelle did not dignify those sarcastic questions with a response.

"People need to be able to relate to you, to see themselves in you. A personal relationship that portrays you in a gentler light would be ideal. Failing that, perhaps a dog. People love dogs."

"You want to me to... get a husband and kids? Play happy families and drop my daughter of at ballet class?" Lena's lip curled up in disdain.

"Hardly. An instafamily would be far too suspicious a publicity move. You need something believable; a minor relationship with someone amiable. Aim for the press to feel like they have discovered a secret. It will attract attention, and the right person could cast you in a positive light. Show the softer side, so to speak."

The sour expression on Lena's face softened briefly, before a confident smile replaced it. Fine. The public needed amiable? She would charm them within an inch of their lives.

"I know just the person," Lena responded.


	2. The Proposal

Dark polished nails rapped on the desk in front of her, and Kara started violently in response.

"Sorry, I was concentrating on – Lena? What are you doing here?"

Lena Luthor stood before her in another of her flawlessly put together business outfits, towering over her in high heels that were entirely unfair. She smiled, and Kara felt something deep in her gut twist into a knot. Lena, Kara had quickly learned, was dangerously smart and used to using ever advantage she had or could invent to sway people. Kara long since become convinced Lena was a good soul, but gee, when she looked at you like that, it made you glad she wasn't given to using her powers for evil.

"Huh?" Kara enquired inarticulately, realising Lena had answered her question and she hadn't absorbed a single syllable.

"I have a proposal for you," Lena repeated, the smile now asymmetric with her amusement at Kara's deer-in-the-headlights expression and slightly mussed ponytail. "I think you will find it mutually beneficial. Let's discuss."

Kara eyed her sceptically, but only made half-hearted arguments about how she was at work when Lena grabbed hold of her sleeve and pulled from her seat. Lena took her out of the office and down the hallway. When she dragged her captive into an empty stairwell.

"I need you to come on a couple of dates with me."

Kara stared at her in utter disbelief. She had no idea what she had been expecting, but it was not that. Definitely not that.

"For the press," she clarified. "I need someone appealing to sit next to convince the public to the public I am not a heartless bitch."

"Who said you were a heartless bitch?!"

Kara's protective streak reared up to its full height. It was something of a sore point that her friend was continually being discriminated against because of her last name.

"4 out of five polls," was the matter-of-fact response.

"That is ridiculous!" Kara snapped angrily.

"It is. Will you do it?"

"Lena… I am really not the centre of attention type. And anyway, wouldn't it be easier to have some nice charity guy do this? Nobody knows me anyway, why would that even help."

"But I can trust you. You would keep the secret. And anyway, you are the most endearing human being to ever walk the earth. the paparazzi will love you just like everyone else does."

"I-"

Kara started but didn't know what to continue with. Lena had said that so genuinely…. She didn't realise Lena thought that about her. They'd really only been sort of friends for a couple of months. Endearing? Lena thought she was endearing? A confusingly warm feeling flushed over her as she processed that compliment again.

"Come on Kara, are you really going to pass up a ticket to the events I go to? Who knows what stories might be floating about? The contacts you could make?" Lena beguiled, "The wine is pretty damn good as well."

No. Absolutely not. She had a secret to keep, and being in a lesbian relationship with Lena Luthor, deliberately attracting the attention of the press was the exactly wrong way to go about it.

"Exactly how many dates is 'a couple'?"

Lena's eyes lit up, and self satisfied little smile rose to compliment them.

She meant to say no. She really did.

Alex was going to kill her.


End file.
